Exchange
by Infernal-Nine
Summary: "What if?" A phrase that many of us have heard several times before of course, a speculation in it's own right. So the question is – "What if Kushina had a younger cousin who she corresponded with on the regular?" "What if she was never aware of the fact that Naruto had made it?" Because at the end of the day, the Shinobi world isn't quite what people make it out to be. One-Shot/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Hello all! Just decided to try my hand at something else once more – while I may not be known for anything quite yet.(Thankfully. No expectations!) I decided to entertain others with the thought of "What if?" A phrase that many of us have heard several times before of course, a speculation in it's own right. So the question is – "What if Kushina had a younger cousin who she corresponded with on the regular?" "What if she was never aware of the fact that Naruto had made it?" Because at the end of the day, the Shinobi world isn't quite what people make it out to be. It is a place of intrigue, of deception, of betrayal. What is the pain of a few, if it is for the sake of many?**

**Please note; this will be a one – two shot at most. If interest piques, then I don't mind doing a few more snippets like I plan to do for "Lyn oui scema vun sa?" Which I plan to do… eventually. Anyone who is interested in the origin of Taifu can… PM me, I guess? I have her backstory saved… somewhere. But all well! Enough about ****_that._**** Let's get this show on the road.**

* * *

_"If I had the most trivial of things to say… my dearest cousin, Kushina. It would be that… I'm glad to have visited Konohagakure. Hopefully I can meet your little bundle of joy, and whoever the father is sometime! Mother says that I have to focus on my sealing though… I don't really care for it, but the Uzumaki name is dependent on us! Right? I know that I… pester you about it all the time, and I know the subject is changing so suddenly, but Kushina-Chan, how is it… being a shinobi? Tetsu no Kuni isn't really the… best of places to be curious, and I think that my father (Inari rest his spirit) wouldn't be proud of me seeking out that path of life._

_It was nice though, seeing you… six more months, eh? Well, it was a nice birthday gift! Fourteen… I wonder how it'd be, being the older cousin to your runt. Heheh! It'll be cool I bet! 'Ttebane!_

_Crap, mom would strangle me if she heard me… 'copying' your verbal tic. But you're the best! So whatever. Please, just write back soon, ne?_

_With all of the love that I can muster – Uzumaki-Taifu."_

* * *

The letter had been sent off in the early months of spring, April if she remembered precisely – it was a gift from her ailing mother, who had wanted her daughter to come into contact with more of their kin to dissuade her from the life of a Shinobi, no matter how dangerous or alluring it had been.

While Taifu Uzumaki – the slender, vivacious, yet somehow soft-spoken crimson haired cousin (Second? Third?) cousin of Uzumaki-Kushina hadn't expected to be allowed to be a Shinobi in the first place. Her father may have given her hand to hand combat, and information on how to utilize the seals that their clan were feared for…

But being a Shinobi? Pft, that would've sent him to the grave far faster than anything else that could have. And the man was as stubborn as a rock. It took a few months, until the start of July until she received her next letter – a little longer than what she had expected, but then again, things like this always tended to lag behind more important assignments. She was sitting on the windowsill, bundled up tightly and staring out to the distance – as if waiting, as if **knowing** that people would be there with her mail soon enough. Well, they always were, so it was really more of a sense of anticipation of what she would get instead of being anxious of **not** getting anything. She didn't have to wait long of course – her ice blue eyes devoured the next letter hungrily, prying open the scroll with a bit of her blood (a safety precaution. It was still sensitive information, after all.) and curling up on her perch with a ravenous interest.

_"Dear little Taifu._

_ It's interestin' to hear about your questions again! I thought that you got enough of questioning me when you were last here! Y'know? There are so many things I can tell you about the Shinobi life, how dangerous it is… but how it allows you to protect those who are close to your heart. That's something that I'm sure that your old man taught you right? Protect your precious people? Yeah, I know it sounds cheesy and all, but it's the thing that's been driving me for my entire life!_

_Maybe it's best for you to follow your heart instead of what's expected. Don't tell your mom I said that though… Ranko has a temper that can make __**me**__, the great Uzumaki Kushina balk! Hehe, but yeah. Now that the war is winding down... maybe you could visit again soon? I can show the little baby to you, and introduce you to the father. You'd like him… you'd never believe how we met too…_

_So romantic… even if he was a prick when I first met him. He thought that some village had lost its idiot when he met me! Me! An idiot? Pft, as if…_

_ Right. Where were we again Gaki? Right, what it means to be a shinobi. Well, some people want fame, and other people want to be heroes. But if you want to be a Hero in the shinobi world, it means that ya gotta be willing to do things that ain't the best… and so, I'm glad that you're not in that life yourself, it brings all sorts of troubles – I'm sure that my kid is going to be a great Shinobi though! The kid'll do us proud, I'm sure…_

_I'll indulge you that in a few years I guess! _

_To the hopes for our futures - Uzumaki-Kushina."_

There was a wistful pause between words, as if she could envision her cousin smiling her bright smile, her beautiful countenance practically illuminating the paper with warmth that left the messy haired youth smiling subconsciously.

Maybe she was never one for romance novels, but Kushina often had her hanging off of each and every word with a rapture that was more akin to hero worship than just respecting her elders. Is that what she would call it? Hero worship? Well, she certainly **appreciated** Kushina, and not just her cooking either… even if she could make some delicious dumplings.

And it was the last letter that she had ever received. It took some months, she had sent off her own curt reply sometime later – planning on visiting Konohagakure with her mother one last time, to see the kid (October 10th was the due date. She always reminded herself of this.) And bouncing on her heels in urgency every morning wasn't exactly helping anyone around their home of two.

October 20th brought with it news that broke the heart of her mother. Both redheads were prepared to leave that morning, and Taifu was surprised to hear a wail, a cry of emotional anguish that woke her from her slumber and left her own heart pounding in her ears. What had gone on? What was wrong with her mother? Why was she so… broken? She had taken the death of her father on in stride, but the pale woman looked especially broken at the black envelope in hand.

_"To whomever this may concern…_

_We regretfully inform you that Uzumaki Kushina, along with her firstborne child, have perished due to complications in birth. Condolences are offered, as it is always hard losing family. However, the will of Kushina lives on in you, as it lives on in others that she has touched._

_Respectfully regarded – Sarutobi Hrizuen."_

And it was the worst letter that she had ever received from Konoha, she decided then and there. There of course, was a disbelief, and a hatred, and a loathing of the child that had taken away Kushina, but then there was the memories the time that they shared, the week of laughter that they shared… well, **everything** they shared.

And she would cherish these moments, and carry on her life like her cousin would want her to. Maybe someday soon, she would be worthy of laying flowers on Kushina's grave, and to meet her and her unborn child in the afterlife…

But for now? Taifu had to focus on the here and now, she would have her time to grieve, just as her mother would – if that grief hadn't brought her mother death, then maybe the redhead wouldn't be so afraid to express her own sorrows.

Maybe, just maybe? She could hold up her head and look forward to a brighter dawn. Because if she wasn't willing to live for Kushina, if she wasn't willing to live for herself, if she wasn't willing to live for the dying clan of the Uzumaki….

Then she wasn't worth her spot on the Earth. It took time, but maybe, just maybe… her own way of honoring Kushina would be through the few things that they shared.

Taifu always wondered how she would look with her hair grown past shoulder length anyhow.

* * *

**And that's that! Nothing fabulous I know, but I don't like getting in over my head and… being ditzy. Maybe you guys can give me a few pointers here and there? I would really appreciate it, Naruto isn't exactly my strongest suit anymore, and y'know… stuff… decent at characterization, decent at Roleplaying, suck-ass at making a story (even a one shot) by myself. :3**


	2. Encounter

**Insert witty disclaimer about not owning Naruto here. **

**I only own one Uzumaki-Taifu, Uzumaki-Ranko and some random shitty arse smithy in the middle of a frosted wasteland. Or something.**

Whenever she smelled ramen, it was as if she was entering a fond set of memories that would, at the end of the day, leave her depressed and a touch remorseful. There were often sayings about food being a gift of life and a way to exchange love for one another in a reasonable, presentable fashion. To the Uzumaki clan, nothing was better than a nice dish to show how much you cared about one another, and to **her**, there wasn't anything better than her cousin's Ramen. She recalled it like it was yesterday, despite the fact that it had been little over a decade and a half.

When they entered Konogakure no Sato for the first (and only ) time, Taifu was amazed, if not a touch impressed by the archeology behind a shinobi village. "Stay close Tai-chan…" Her mother murmured softly, taking her jade eyes to meet her daughters contrasting ice blue (so much like her father's own, so spirited… it wouldn't do her any good to remember her lover.) and squeezed the slender, pale hand with her own sunkissed limb. It was always this way; her daughter was always so pale, as if crafted from porcelain itself and made to be put on display.

"But mother…" The short, crimson haired child began to speak, only to be cut off by her elders gentle glare. Both were elated, but whereas Ranko was a touch more calm about it, her hyperactive daughter was hard to keep pinned down. Flat sandals clapped against the dirt road in near silence, years of living out in a frozen wasteland teaching them each to distribute their weight silently and evenly. If there was ever a cause of suspicion (which Ranko did believe existed – she doubted Kushina ever claimed to have many relatives) they would be prime suspects. The Blacksmith and one of the many heirs to the Uzumaki name understood how the mechanizations of a Shinobi village worked, and despite the fact that she hadn't chosen that way of life, Kushina had taken it upon herself to represent their clan. Even when she was a good ten years her junior, that child was always braver than her…

"Are we almost the-" Once more, the question was on the edge of her tongue as the busying street continued to part around them – curious to see a child that looked so much like the fiery habanero walking around with her hand clasped within that of an elder female, but not something completely unusual. Then again, not many people particularly cared to acknowledge the fact that Kushina had screamed at the top of her lungs that her family was visiting, and as the duo continued on with their way, Tai gave an awkward rub at the back of her neck. It was certainly more humid than what she was used to as well…

Muggy air, sweltering heat and disgruntled merchants were all things that appealed and repulsed the curious teenager, but what was the harm in experimenting just the slightest bit with haggling? Unfortunately, before she could get into the spirit of things and **really** start pestering this merchant for a good vat of ink and scrolls, Taifu was pulled away by her vexed mother, who shot her sheepish child yet another glare. It was as if she couldn't sit still for more than five seconds despite the fact that she was normally sicker than a dog in December. Once they continued on, both women were unaware that they were being trailed (or perhaps one of them were, considering that her hand continued to tap her waist in a manner that was most peculiar) when they fell into the common chatter of civilians, a blissful thing that left both Uzumaki woman with pleased smiles on their faces and conversation that was civil as well as polite.

So it seemed that her mother was good at haggling after all…

So enraptured in her thoughts of getting another deal, the shorter of the duo hardly saw the shadow dropping down upon them until the edges of her awareness caught the chakra signal. Unusually warm, not unlike the area around them was, but… well, something internal that caused Taifu to seize up for a moment and feel unusually happy. It took all of five seconds for her mother to yank her out of the way of the pouncing figure and stand in front of her, and it took less than that for ice blue eyes to meet a cheerful cerulean behind a curtain of red that seemed to trail on forever. They certainly were beautiful, she decided then and there…

"Konnichiwa Tai-chan! Ra-ranko-cha…" The voice that seemed to be so lively and spirited (not even a good five words in and Tai decided that it did indeed fit the tone of the letters that she had received to a capital T.) had died off with an awkward chuckle, which probably came about due to the mother of the youngest of their group standing in front of Tai with a single fist clenched and a brow twitching in a display of rather visible rage. The Uzumaki temper was absolutely… well, phenomenal to say the least, and wasn't this street full not two seconds ago? Maybe it was the oppressive aura that her mother was permeating at that second, or maybe it was the fact that there was a ghastly spirit behind her that promised pain for surprising her so….

"Ehehehe, I have ramen for you guys? Made it m'self…" The female said with an awkward grin that was absolutely beautiful in Tai's own eyes. Strong legs went to meet a taller figure with no form of hesitation, and that scent certainly was appealing to her ravenous appetite. She hadn't eaten all day!

"Kushina-Chama…" A voice filled with uncertainty caught the expectant mother's attention, and even if the doctors said she shouldn't have been moving too much, it was to the upmost importance that she grabbed her family and greeted them with quite the flare and manners! "Allow me to assist you with your bags!" She cried out softly, taking one of the containers of home cooked ramen with no small amount of hesitation. She just **had** to prove her worth to the elder female, and both women – blacksmith and Kunoichi, shared a look with one another that expressed their amusement at Taifu's sudden shift in demeanor from an absentminded child to that of a shy servant.

"Ah… Taifu-chan, no need for such honorifics, just call me Kushina, 'TTebanne!" Tai's eyes widened for all of a second at the brass lack of formalities and honorifics. The smile that she received from her cousin… that beautiful, beautiful, smile that said "Welcome home…"

…Happened to be something that she never went out of her way to forget. Fourteen years later, and Taifu was still fond of the foxy smile that conveyed so much warmth to her. This ramen stand that she had settled into had caught her attention – once again, a mirroring of events had occurred. The only reason she was visiting this hellhole in the first place was to lay a few flowers on the grave of her cousin and deliver a shipment of her specially made kunai to a shinobi shop that traded with her family every so often.

"Oi! Old man Teuchi, get me some miso ramen on the pronto! 'Ttebayo!" The loud, abrasive voice caused Tai to lift her eyes from her own naruto topped ramen lazily – the kid was cute, she decided, and his chakra…

"I just got back from my trainin'! I think I'll have…" Cerulean met iced blue for the first time in ages – however, the gap between generations and the realization forming within Tai's eyes lasted for all of a second before the rather rude blond wrenched his eyes away from the woman with extremely long red hair. "One of everything! Hey, hey Miss! How did you grow y'er hair out that long? It must've taken forever!"

For a second, Taifu gave a smile, a brief one that lasted for what felt like an eternity before she spoke up once more, slender fingers coming through locks that reached her backside (not long enough, she still had a ways to go, Tai noted absently.)

"I did it to commemorate someone dear to me…" His smile towards her was something beautiful, something that clicked within her memories as absolutely familiar and stirred emotions within her that caused a single tear to roll down her check and into the broth of her meal.

"I'm sure she musta been real pretty if she had hair just like that!"

Yeah… and it was an honor knowing her as well, the blacksmith thought with a sad, wry little smile upon her features. "Yes… say kid, what's y'er name?" She questioned with that rough dialect of hers, attempting to take her features from a fond remembrance that was sure to creep the kid out – but then again, the way his eyes lit up when she asked him for his name instead of shunning him was priceless. Absolutely worth it.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto! And I'm gonna be Hokage someday! 'Ttebayo!" He even gave a cheesy thumbs up to her, like that was going to change her perception of him. That name… they shared blood, even if she wasn't quite sure, she was **sure** of it now.

"My name is Taifu…" after a minute of pause, consideration, internal debate and worry, she decided that perhaps it was for the best that she didn't give her surname quite yet.

"I do believe that you will accomplish your dream. You remind me of the person who I… commemorate with my hair." The air in the ramen stand happened to be quite tolerable after that, with the elderly man – Teuchi, doing a double take to her that was almost humorous yet endearing. If it weren't for the fact that there were **obvious **differences in stature, weight, and eye colour, she could've passed for a young Kushina.

"Heheh, thanks Taifu-chan!" Already, an affectionate nickname. The boy looked panicked for a moment after noticing the time, and instead of running out like she expected he would with that reaction (that is, without bidding her farewell), the newly minted 'Naruto' (the irony was just dawning on her now) gave her yet another wide, foxy grin before waving goodbye and running out of the stand. "I'll see you around I guess! Maybe you can teach me some Jutsu!"

Oh… that scroll on her back **was** sticking out like a sore thumb, wasn't it?

"Yeah kid… I'll see what I can do." She responded with a grin in turn, mimicking the fox like smirk with one of her own before turning back to her meal.

Now what were the odds of that? All things considered…

Well, it was a blessing that she wasn't going to be forgetting anytime soon. A chance encounter that left her with more questions than answers, but with a warmth within her that seemed to be rekindling once more.

"I wonder if you left me a gift after all, Kushina-chan…" No more running away, no more guilt, no more blaming. It was time to get to the bottom of this.

One way or another, she would see to it that these memories were not just **memories**. They would be stories to tell her cousin, once they met again within the afterlife.

"Uzumaki Naruto eh? Well then Naruto-chan, I'll see if I can discover a few things more." Because even though this was the shinobi world, and she seldom had a place within it, family always came first. Even **potential **family came before her career and her life. Was she a hypocrite for cursing the child who took her beloved relative away from her in some way shape or form, only to meet him and bless his existence? Possibly; but the prospect of seeing to it that her kin was alive and well. Well… that just made her life a whole lot more interesting.

**And with that, this little snippet is done. I have no idea where it came from, nor do I particularly endorse anything that I cannot handle. Why, the dialogue and things like that need work, so if anyone can offer any pointers I would certainly appreciate it. Why meet Naruto? To show that there is always a form of motivation whenever one least expects it to be. To go from regret to a chance at happiness, bitterness to joy, sorrow to bliss… well, everyone deserves that chance. Plus the dynamic between Tai and Naru, as I would imagine, would be humorous in its own right. Tai is too similar to Kushina for there to ****not**** be punches thrown.**

◘ **For whomever bookmarked this story, I would like to say thank you. It makes me feel like I did a good enough job to warrant some interest here. Perhaps someday I will allow someone to expand upon Taifu, but for now? Ehehe, well, so long as no interest is showing, I'll keep 'er close to me. **


End file.
